


By The Book

by Measured



Category: Baby Daddy (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Missing Scene, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 09:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10805955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured/pseuds/Measured
Summary: It was a shame that being a dad couldn't be like training, because then he could just do fifty push ups and have the dad version of great abs. But apparently, the best way to be a dad was by studying. And he was never great on the studying thing.





	By The Book

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers up to The Third Wheeler.

It was a shame that being a dad couldn't be like training, because then he could just do fifty push ups and have the dad version of great abs. But apparently, the best way to be a dad was by studying. And he was never great on the studying thing.

Danny spent school with coach making an exceptions, his mom saying _the F stands for fantastic. See, it's red, that means you're special_ then coming in to talk with his teachers, the sort of talk that required a real low-cut shirt and got him D's instead. Not because he wasn't _fantastic_ , but because they realized what a good boy he was, and the D stood for _damn fantastic_ or at least that's what his mom said.

At first, it was hard. The books were filled with big, weird words. Dictionary.com became his best friend. He'd sit with his phone, searching each one. Sometimes reading a single page took a good half hour, because he'd have to stop to look up things like _blood-brain barrier_. The mental image he'd had of babies able to summon blood barriers like some kind of superhero was a lot cooler than the reality.

Sure, it was difficult, and he was behind on all his shows (Ben had even gone and spoiled him for Brooklyn Nine Nine, just because he could) but Riley was sick every single day and couldn't even have a beer to take the edge off of a day. If he could take the morning sickness, like some co-hangover, he would. But apparently, he didn't get that superhero power.

He kept a notebook on his lap, and wrote down _Kale = good for brain development, chemicals = bad._ The no-no list spanned from hot dogs, to fried chicken and pretty much everything else that tasted good.

The words were so big that he'd stumble across them, though he bet Riley could read them in one go. She was really smart like that. He'd just have to ask her when she wasn't cranky.

But she was always cranky these days, apparently it came with the baby. But if he brought her food when he asked, then it'd probably cancel out any questions. And with Riley by his side, it was like having a kick-butt superhero lawyer who fired dictionaries from her brain.

Danny smiled. Maybe this dad thing wasn't so hard after all.

*

Every morning, Danny got up early. He'd make his protein shake, fit in about fifty push ups, and start packing her lunch for the day. Fruit juice--Grape Juicy Juice, the closest she'd get to wine for a long time--baby carrot sticks, they helped with eyesight, the book said. An apple, because those were supposed to keep the doctor away, and some peanut butter and jelly, but only on whole grain bread with seeds in it.

Right now, he couldn't surprise her with breakfast in bed, because wake up time was throwing up time, but he could rub her back, and offer some mouthwash before she felt good enough to push herself up.

The book said that this stopped after a while, which meant pretty soon, he'd be bringing her scrambled eggs. Probably a little burnt. No matter how much he watched the cooking channel, it didn't magically give him the ability to make perfect eggs, but one day he would. He just had to keep trying.

He took a mental note. On second thought, he wrote it down in ink on the back of his hand. _Be careful about spicy food, no tuna! Don't order sushi, figure out how to make virgin pina coladas._

He wrote a little post-it note every day, tucked away behind the PB&J: _I love you, go kick butt doing lawyer stuff!_

*

After he finished the book cover to cover, Danny headed out to a bookstore. But with Borders gone, he ended up at a place called _Whole Earth Books_. It was small and cramped, and filled with enough books to crush somebody to death in an earthquake. The books were stacked so high that he couldn't even reach them if he tried, and Danny wasn't used to not being able to reach things.

Danny sniffed the air. He knew the scent of pot anywhere. It'd almost gotten him kicked off the Rangers. That'd explain why the lady had such red eyes. And the beaded curtain near the back.

"Welcome," she said. She spread her arms wide, and got distracted by the wall.

"Hey," Danny said. He gave a little finger wave. The lady was still distracted by the wall. She wore a floaty tie-die tunic thing, and a lot of beaded necklaces of all colors.

He browsed the books, but there was just so many that he couldn't figure out where to start. Danny closed his eyes and put his finger to a random stack. _Naturally Breastfeeding Your Baby_.

He shrugged. Maybe it'd be hot. 

A few pages in, he realized it wasn't hot. It seemed impossible--how could boobs not be hot?--but most of the pictures had diagrams of the body, with muscles and glands, and things he never wanted to associate with boobs. He closed the book and tried again. _Potty Training Your Toddler_. 

On one hand, it might be helpful. On the other hand, it looked kind of gross. 

Danny bent down to check the next one. He heard a throat clear behind him, and turned back.

"Oh, hey again."

"Maybe I've had a bit too much, but you look just like Danny Wheeler, from the New York Rangers," she said. 

Danny smiled. "Actually, I am."

She didn't respond for several seconds. Wow, she really smoked the whole bowl. He hoped the scent didn't stick to him. He'd have a hard time convincing his coach it was just a bookstore.

"See, my--" _My almost fiancee, the love of my life, the girl I've been in love since the first time I saw her, the girl I'm going to marry,_ that was a bit long, so he said "I mean, Riley is pregnant. I'm trying to read up on dad stuff, but there's a lot, so I don't know where to start."

The receptionist reached up and pulled down a thick book. Her beads clattered as she handed it over.

"My sister loved this one."

_Your Vegan Pregnancy._

In Scott Pilgrim, Vegans had super powers. All he had to do was convince Riley to eat some kale and they'd be fighting crime together in no time.

"Thanks a lot," Danny said.

He paid, and went straight to the grocery store. He was going to buy enough salads, until he had the best superhero baby around.

*

Every night, Riley slept in the crook of his arm. Sometimes she fell asleep sweaty and real well satisfied, and sometimes she was so exhausted that she fell asleep watching the evening news, and he'd have to carry her to bed. Danny kept a little flashlight in the nightstand. He told Riley it was for in case the power went out, but that wasn't the real reason he snuck it in. 

He opened up _Your Vegan Pregnancy_ to where he left off. If he tried saying the words over and over, words like parabens and sulfites, he'd eventually get the hang of it.

*

Now, when Ben tried to see who would babysit (or to be more honest: who to sucker Emma on while he tried to get laid) Danny always took the initiative. He figured this had to be like the dad version of doing laps on the ice and practice. Lucky him that his brother had an accidental kid right there and waiting.

By the time his baby got here, he was going to be ready for the play offs—the dad play offs, that was.

He opened up the notebook. First page. _Don't offer to give the kid a brewski._ Danny held up his hand, like to high-five his past self. That guy knew what was up. Usually the first thing he did when someone was over was offer them a beer. 

Emma was dressed up like a purple fairy princess, but with a hockey mask over her head. Yesterday, she'd been princess Batman. Whatever Ben was doing, he sure was doing something right. 

"So, you want a juice box and..." Danny looked down to his hand where he'd snuck secret dad notes. "...some goldfish. Not the swimmy kind, the crackers."

"Yes," Emma said.

He turned on the show, Princess something or other, Sparkles, he thought it was, and pulled out the snacks.

Danny took out his notebook, as the show came on. He focused real hard, to take in every detail. _Princess whats her face fights evil. Note to self: actually figure out the name of the show._

*

While out for more wheatgrass--the lady in the store said it was the most 'nutrient dense' type of food--Danny bought a _World's Best Dad_ keychain. Because screaming out _I'm going to be a dad, and I'm going to marry Riley one day. Riley, the girl I've been in love with my whole life is going to be the mother of my child, we're going to be a family_ at three AM was frowned on, apparently. On the way home, this little old lady smiled at him.

"Oh yeah, I'm going to be a dad."

He wished he had ultrasound pictures to show. _I know the baby looks like an alien now, but mom said that's just the film. It's not an actual alien baby, but that would be really cool if it was._

"My son is a huge fan. Could I have a autograph?" She pulled out a receipt. 

Danny smiled, and pulled out the pen he always had on hand. It used to be he'd use that pen to leave his autograph--and number--on admiring fans. Usually their breasts. But these days, the only thing he was writing was autographs which didn't wash off.

He signed it _Danny Wheeler, Cool Dad_.

Because anyone could make the New York Rangers, but being a dad and kind-of-eventually married to the love of his life? Now that was something special.

*

But he caught a conversation, and ended up rushing headlong into another bad plan. The Wheelers as a rule, didn't think things through, or came up with plans so complex they were doomed to fail. He always was the first option.

Down that trail, it was like one long walk down a sad road. Sitting at the door and watching Ben and Riley dance on the rooftop, hearing her confess to him so many times just how much his brother meant to her as it felt like his heart was being skewered and tossed right out the window, and all the little pieces of him spread out on the road.

And every time when it didn't matter if he was technically the favorite kid, as long as Riley liked Ben more, none of it mattered if Riley loved someone else.

But there, with a sprained ankle, he heard it all. All her insecurities. She'd been trying to keep it all together for him, and he hadn't even realized it. He had a long walk home when his mom ended the call.

Maybe he'd gotten a little intense. Like coach when the final four was coming up intense. He limped home. He should've trusted her. He really shouldn't have hidden in poison ivy. He should've trusted her.

Danny stopped in a Walmart before he headed home. Poison Ivy salve, and a whole bunch of new groceries. Oreos and chocolate milk. It was one sparkler away from looking like a fourth of July weekend.

He would've bought a sparkler, but their super really didn't like them bringing home. Oh, hell, why not? They could set them off on the fire escape, and steal a kiss. With their luck, he'd probably set off the fire alarm too, but it'd be so worth it.

After so many years of looking away when she kissed his brother and so many other boyfriends over the years, he kissed her whenever possible. He had a lot to make up for, all those romantic plans he'd had for her, all the way back to when he picked fistfuls of daisies put band-aids on her scraped knee in grade school.

Danny tossed the sparklers in too, and headed for the front desk to pay out.

*

Every time he saw Riley, he had to remind himself that yes, he was marrying her. She looked so cute in her loose blue tank top, with a bow at the top. Because of the baby, a lot of her favorite clothes had to be shelved, but Riley always took one determined look back at her closet, as if to say _one day_.

"Oh god, Danny, you stocked Oreos in the cupboards," Riley said. She looked on the verge of crying. "There's spaghetti and is that ground beef? There's not a single thing here from a farmer's market!"

"Yeah, I went shopping I was just trying to be a good dad, but I went a little overboard. I'm sorry, Riley. I was just trying to do what's best for the baby. I guess I got a little too into the book thing."

"It was like I was dating a militant vegan mixed with a granola soccer mom. I had nightmares of opening my lunch and finding nothing but grass for _days_. And every day, I'd wake up, and it'd be real. I don't ever want wheatgrass around me again," she said.

"Aww, it wasn't that bad. Coach always puts me on a green drink and protein shake in the mornings," Danny said.

"I ate raw kale, Danny. And there wasn't even _ranch dressing_ to make it palatable! The baby wants protein, it's not a rabbit. In fact, the baby needs _chicken wings_."

"Babe, I got this. I'll order take out right away. KFC sound good? I can order a bucket--" He looked back at her. "Maybe two buckets." As he watched her face start to to turn toward irritation, he hastily added, "--but only because I eat a ton."

"KFC? You're getting me KFC? God, Danny. Those are the sweetest words you ever told me," Riley said.

He didn't let that get him down, because he was always going to top the best things said to her. If 'let's get KFC' could top _someday_ then she better hold on, because his wedding vows were going to knock her socks off.

Fifteen minutes later, he got to see her face light up. He'd gone all out, gotten some biscuits and gravy, too.

Danny smiled to himself as he saw her dig into that bucket of chicken. He always loved it when Rigantor came out.

Riley ducked her head. "Ugh, don't look. I'm being a pig."

Danny scooted the chair closer so he could wrap his arm right about her. 

"Riley, babe, I love it when you two-fist it. You're like my eating contest champion. It's like the old days, when you'd have a chicken drumstick in one hand, a hockey stick in the other, and everyone would just get out of your way because they knew you'd kick their ass."

She looked up at him with just a slight bit of annoyance. "Danny, we already talked about speaking of _the ghosts of Rigantor past_ ," Riley said.

He kissed her temple. "You might try and forget Rigantor exists, but I still see her around. Like when you're kicking butt doing lawyer stuff, or when you're really into watching a hockey game and start hurling insults at the other team, or when you're eating fried chicken and threaten to break Ben's fingers if he takes the last wing. She's still there, waiting to smash a beer can into her head and get all the goals. And that's good, because I love all of you. Even the parts when you're barfing in a purse because there was tuna, or when you're doing awesome lawyer stuff, or playing with Emma, or beating people over the head with a hockey stick."

She tapped his nose with a drumstick. "You're lucky you're so cute, because Rigantor doesn't leave witnesses."

"That sounds like a Wheeler war," Danny said.

"Watch out, I play to win," Riley said. She reached for another drumstick.

What Danny didn't say was sometimes, he let her win, because he liked watching her with that hockey stick, he liked watching her victory dance. But, she'd probably already figured it out. Riley was smart like that.


End file.
